Publications
The Center for Automotive Research is involved in the research of significant issues that relate to the future direction of the global automotive industry. As a nonprofit research organization, and in cooperation with study funders, most CAR research is released publicly through this website.
Advanced Power Technology Alliance Advanced Internal Combustion Engine Survey (Light Duty Vehicle Technology)
The internal combustion engine (ICE) has been the predominant powerplant in the automobile for nearly a century. This study was prepared for the Advanced Power Technology Alliance (APTA) and sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Dow Foundation.
The Advanced Power Technology Dilemma: from Hydrocarbons to Hydrogen
Imagine that you’re an average consumer with limited knowledge of automotive technology, and you’re concerned about reports of global warming and America’s over dependence on foreign oil. You’ve probably read stories that the car manufacturers could use different technologies to improve fuel economy by producing hybrid-electric vehicles or making fuel…
Developing a National Strategy for High-Volume Manufacture of P.E.M. and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Workshop
This report presents the results of a workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that took place on December 8, 2003, in Dearborn, Michigan. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together a broad national audience to identify critical manufacturing issues associated with the high…
Michigan Automotive Partnership Research Memorandum No. 1 – The Future of Modular Automotive Systems: Where are the Economic Efficiencies in the Modular-Assembly Concept?
The world auto industry has experienced many fundamental changes in its long history. The majority of these changes have involved important shifts in the market for motor vehicles or improvements in product or manufacturing technologies.
The Digital Body Development System
The Digital Body Development System (DBDS) is a $10.6 million 4 year NIST ATP project to shorten the time to launch vehicles by improving the launch problem solving process.
Integrated Build: A New Approach to Building Automotive Bodies
This paper introduces three auto body build concepts: net build (NB), functional build (FB) and integrated build (IB). Most manufacturers design and validate their vehicle launches using the NB concept. Report published in the International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, Volume 3, No. 3/4, 2003.
Advanced Power Technology Survey
The Advanced Power Technology survey is based on the Delphi forecasting process and is highly dependent upon the quality of the small ‘expert’ panel. A Report for the Advanced Power Technology Alliance
A Collaborative Model for the Tool and Die Industry
Many tool and die makers have gone bankrupt during the first years of the new millennia. This study was commissioned to better understand the underlying causes for the demise of these shops. This report was sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The Canada-U.S. Border: An Automotive Study
For the Canadian and U.S. automotive industries, the internal crossing points of the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor Tunnel (Detroit-Windsor); the Blue Water Bridge (Port Huron-Sarnia), and the Peace Bridge (Buffalo-Fort Erie) are the critical connecting points within the logistics chain that support new light duty vehicle shipments of pproximately…
Applying Distributed Adaptive Optimization to Digital Car Body Development
Companies in today’s automotive industry are under immense competitive pressure to reduce the length of their product development cycle from initial concept to begin of high-volume manufacturing. From the publication: Engineering Self-Organizing Systems: Methodologies and Applications